Journey to the Finish Line

Measuring success in the pool

2010-02-15T07:57:19-05:00

By now, February is becoming a drag. It's the shortest month, yet seems like the longest path from winter to spring. The days are getting longer, Outdoor runs are a bit more bearable. And thoughts are turning toward spring and early summer races. Since running and cycling pretty much are just about getting in the miles and perhaps working on some drills at the moment, this can be a great time for a swim focus. Of course for me, all year is a good time for a swim focus as I continue to get comfortable in the water and learn...

Running for more birthdays

2010-02-10T08:38:52-05:00

As most people, I have several friends and family members who have confronted cancer. Some have triumphed. Some have struggled. Some have lost the battle. One dear friend of mine has been turning "50" since I met her several years ago. Why? Because she wasn't sure if she would make it to 50. It makes her birthday a celebration of not just another year on the planet, but another year of success and health and happiness and, well, life. It makes the American Cancer Society's campaign as the official sponsor of birthdays pretty meaningful. While my race calendar is pretty...

Race report: ING Miami Half Marathon

2010-02-08T05:35:00-05:00

The walk from the hotel to the starting corrals was less than a mile. It was 5:30 in the morning. By the time my friend Sue and I made our way into the starting gates, we were already sweating. This was going to be one long run. The ING Miami Marathon and Half Marathon experienced one of its hottest and most humid days in its eight-year history. Humidity at the start of the race, at 6:15 a.m., was 93 percent. I trained my long runs in hot, sweaty gyms on treadmills but unless I moved the treadmill into the sauna...

Final half marathon prep

2010-01-30T07:00:45-05:00

It was a long travel day and there times when, quite frankly, I was just plain cranky. Times of crankiness often bring good indicators of great friends and my two travel partners and fellow runners, Sue and Herm, not only rolled with my occasional crankiness but made me laugh at the most important times. One of the true blessings of becoming part of the endurance sport world is the tribe you are able to create -- the people you not only meet but the friends who become like family and carry you through all kinds of things that life throw...

Off-season training tips

2010-01-27T07:15:33-05:00

For most in the endurance sports world, the winter denotes the off-season. Granted there are opportunities to race year-round which many people take advantage of (such as my upcoming race at the ING Miami Half Marathon) but a vast majority of people who like to run distances or participate in triathlon aren't specifically building toward a specific race in January and February. What to do with your workouts? The folks at Ironman.com talked to three of the sports most respected coaches to ask their ideas and suggestions for off-season training. (You can read the entire article here.) Suggestion No. 1...

Never too late to start

2010-01-26T07:21:50-05:00

When Lance Armstrong tweets a link to an article, it's usually worth taking a look-see. This morning, Armstrong gave his followers on Twitter a teaser "Guess I'd better keep racing ...: with a link to an article in Time magazine online. The idea that exercise is good for you isn't exactly news, but a series of independently conducted studies point to more evidence that exercise may help prevent the onset of chronic diseases such as heart disease, dementia and osteoarthritis. One of the most interesting studies in the article was a Canadian study which looked at the cognitive effects of...

Taper Week Begins

2010-01-25T09:12:25-05:00

The ING Miami Half Marathon is six days away meaning my training has officially entered the taper zone. Sunday marked my last longish run leading up to the 13.1-mile race that starts in downtown Miami and winds through South Beach. It was an hour and 15 minutes with a few tempo pick ups and generally felt good. In fact, my runs lately have felt so good it almost made me nervous. But in general I'm feeling strong, confident, like I could run faster during my easy runs. It was a bit of a challenge to hold back. That's never happened...

Help for Jenny

2010-01-24T06:01:46-05:00

It's one of those powerful stories of hope, loss and determination. It's the story of Jenny Crain, a former national-class distance runner who now struggles to do ordinary daily tasks. And now that her story has become better know, the cyber running community is getting involved to offer help. Crain's best performance was likely the 2004 New York City Marathon, where she earned the title as the top American finisher. She qualified for the Olympic Trials and still had hopes of competing in the Games when, in August of 2007, she she went out for a run and never returned....

The return of Deena Kastor

2010-01-20T08:58:45-05:00

There is something so likable about Deena Kastor. It's just her results as one of the most accomplished American distance runners that's appealing. There's something about her personality, her willingness to be in nearly every running-themed magazine or website, her example of hard work and positive attitude, even going through adversity. She won bronze in the marathon at the 2004 Olympics and looked like she could swap for another color medal in the 2008 Games, until she broke her foot. She spent 2009 recovering and training and still remained smiling and upbeat and an inspiration for distance runners, particularly for...

Cycling season begins

2010-01-19T08:24:52-05:00

It's prime time for sports in Australia this week with the kick off of both the tennis and cycling seasons. While the Australian Opens begins the season on the court, the Tour Down Under begins the season on the road for professional cycling teams. The Tour Down Under went big time last year when Lance Armstrong made his return to professional cycling at the event. This year with Team Radio Shack, Armstrong is hoping his team picks up a stage win to gain momentum (mostly from a sponsorship standpoint) heading into the 2010 season. The race, in its 12th year,...